Sunshine Coast timber supply area timber supply review ... · Sunshine Coast TSA TSR Data Package April 2011 ii Table of Contents Overview of the Sunshine Coast TSA Timber Supply

Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area Timber Supply Review

Data Package

Updated April 2011

Sunshine Coast TSA TSR Data Package April 2011

ii

Table of Contents

Overview of the Sunshine Coast TSA Timber Supply Review (TSR) ................................................................... 1 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Overview of the Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area (TSA) .............................................................. 2 1.2 First Nations .......................................................................................................................................... 3

1.21 Treaty Settlement Lands .................................................................................................................. 3 2. Current Forest Management Considerations and Issues ................................................................................. 4

2.1 Base case management assumptions ..................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Major forest management considerations and issues ............................................................................ 4

3. Inventories ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Background information ....................................................................................................................... 8

4 Division of the Area into Management Zones .............................................................................................. 10 4.1 Management zones and tracking of multiple objectives (grouping) ................................................... 10 4.2 Analysis units ...................................................................................................................................... 11

5. Timber Harvesting Land Base Definition .................................................................................................... 12 5.1 Land outside the core TSA .................................................................................................................. 12 5.2 Non-forest, non-productive forest and non-commercial cover ........................................................... 12 5.3 Land not administered by the BC Forest Service for TSA timber supply........................................... 13 5.4 Inoperable areas .................................................................................................................................. 14 5.5 Sites with low timber growing potential and problem forest types ..................................................... 15 5.6 Cultural heritage resource reductions .................................................................................................. 16 5.7 Experimental and permanent sample plots .......................................................................................... 16 5.8 Sites with unstable terrain ................................................................................................................... 16 5.9 Established recreation reserves and sites ............................................................................................ 17 5.10 Wildlife habitat area reductions .......................................................................................................... 18 5.11 Old growth management areas (OGMAs) .......................................................................................... 19 5.12 Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) ............................................................................................. 21 5.13 Riparian reserve and management zones ............................................................................................ 22 5.14 Roads, trails and landings ................................................................................................................... 23 5.15 Wildlife trees (WTs) and wildlife tree patches (WTPs) ...................................................................... 24 5.16 Timber licence reversions ................................................................................................................... 25

6. Current Forest Management Assumptions ................................................................................................... 26 6.1 Harvesting ........................................................................................................................................... 26

6.1.1 Utilization levels ........................................................................................................................... 26 6.1.2 Volume exclusions for mixed-species stands ................................................................................ 27 6.1.3 Minimum harvestable age ............................................................................................................. 27 6.1.4 Harvest scheduling priorities ......................................................................................................... 28 6.1.5 Logging method ............................................................................................................................ 29 6.1.6 Silvicultural systems ..................................................................................................................... 30

6.2 Unsalvaged losses ............................................................................................................................... 30 6.3 Silviculture .......................................................................................................................................... 31

6.3.1 Regeneration activities in managed stands .................................................................................... 31 6.3.2 Stand fertilization .......................................................................................................................... 33 6.3.3 Immature plantation history .......................................................................................................... 33 6.3.4 Not satisfactorily restocked (NSR) areas ...................................................................................... 33 6.3.5 Genetic gain through tree improvement ........................................................................................ 34

6.4 Integrated resource management ......................................................................................................... 35 6.4.1 Forest cover requirements ............................................................................................................. 35

7. Sensitivity Analyses to be Performed ........................................................................................................... 37 Appendix A: Land base Summaries ..................................................................................................................... 38


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Table of Contents

Table 1. Major forest management considerations in the Sunshine Coast TSA ............................................ 4

Table 2. Inventory information ...................................................................................................................... 8

Table 3. Objectives to be tracked ................................................................................................................. 10

Table 4. Definition of analysis units ............................................................................................................ 11

Table 5. Ownership contributions ................................................................................................................ 13

Table 6. Description of operable areas ......................................................................................................... 14

Table 7. Description of sites with low timber growing potential and problem forest types(a)

...................... 15

Table 8. Description of sites with unstable terrain ....................................................................................... 16

Table 9. Established recreation reserves and sites in the Sunshine Coast TSA ........................................... 17

Table 10. Description of wildlife orders and WHAs for the Sunshine Coast TSA ........................................ 18

Table 11. Status of OGMAs by landscape unit — Sunshine Coast Forest District 2010 .............................. 20

Table 12. Description of environmentally sensitive areas ............................................................................. 21

Table 13. Riparian reserve and management zone buffer widths for river and streams ................................ 22

Table 14. Riparian reserve and management zone buffer widths for lakes and wetlands .............................. 22

Table 15. Summary of unclassified roads in Sunshine Coast TSA ................................................................ 23

Table 16. Reductions to reflect volume retention in cutblocks ...................................................................... 24

Table 17. Utilization levels ............................................................................................................................ 26

Table 18. Volume exclusions for mixed-species types .................................................................................. 27

Table 19. Minimum harvestable age criteria .................................................................................................. 28

Table 20. Modelling priorities for harvest scheduling ................................................................................... 28

Table 21. Logging method ............................................................................................................................. 29

Table 22. Unsalvaged losses .......................................................................................................................... 30

Table 23. Regeneration assumptions for recent plantations and second-growth stands. ............................... 32

Table 24. Regeneration assumptions for future stands .................................................................................. 32

Table 25. Forest cover requirements .............................................................................................................. 35

Table 26. Old seral forest retention requirements .......................................................................................... 36

Table 27. Sensitivity issues ............................................................................................................................ 37


1

Overview of the Sunshine Coast TSA Timber Supply Review (TSR)

Under Section 8 of the Forest Act the chief forester must review the timber supply for each timber supply area at

least once every 10 years. Under the same section the chief forester may extend the current AAC up to 15 years

if the current timber supply is stable and any new developments would unlikely change the AAC. For more

information about the AAC process please visit the following internet site:

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/pubs/tsr/tsrbackgrounder.pdf

The completed data package contains those inputs that represent current performance for the TSA. For the

purpose of the timber supply review (TSR), "current performance" can be defined by:

the current forest management regime — the productive forest land available for timber harvesting,

the silviculture treatments, the harvesting systems and the integrated resource management

practices used in the area;

fully implemented land-use plans;

land-use decisions approved by Cabinet;

orders issued through the Government Actions Regulation (GAR) of the Forest and Range

Practices Act (FRPA);

the order establishing provincial non-spatial old growth objectives and landscape units pursuant to

the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act; and,

approved higher level plans under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act.

The primary purpose of the timber supply review program is to model "what is" not "what if". Changes in forest

management objectives and data, when and if they occur, will be captured in future timber supply analyses.

Each section of this data package includes:

1) A short explanation of the data required;

2) A data table or lists of modelling assumptions;

3) A description of data sources and other comments.

The information in this data package represents the best available knowledge at the time of publication, but is

subject to change. A First Nations consultation and public review period has been established to allow

submission of comments and concerns about the data package to the Ministry of Forests and Range. The

information and assumptions in the data package that have been revised to incorporate First Nations and public

input will be used to determine the timber harvesting land base (THLB) - the productive Crown forest land in

the TSA available for timber harvesting. Until the THLB is determined, it is not possible to finalize the values

shown in some of the tables in this document. Where the final value is not yet available, the applicable columns

are shaded grey. In addition, should any major changes in management practices occur during the next few

months, the timber supply analysis will attempt to capture them. The final technical report will include an

appendix that highlights any changes made to this data package.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/pubs/tsr/tsrbackgrounder.pdf


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1. Introduction

1.1 Overview of the Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area (TSA)

The Sunshine Coast TSA comprises approximately 1.5 million hectares along the southwest coast of British

Columbia. The TSA is administered from the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS) Sunshine Coast Forest

District office in Powell River. The TSA is bordered by the Fraser TSA to the south, the Soo TSA to the east,

the Strathcona and Kingcome TSAs to the west and the Williams Lake TSA to the north. It is also adjacent to

portions of TFL 39 and TFL 43.

The landscape of the Sunshine Coast TSA is dominated by the Coast Mountains and several coastal fjords, most

notably Bute, Toba and Jervis Inlets. The landscape ranges from nutrient rich, moist floodplains in the valley

bottoms to alpine meadows. About 28 percent of the land base of the TSA is considered to be productive forest

land managed by the BCFS, of which just over half is considered to be available for timber harvesting.

The forests of the TSA are diverse, and about half of the forests on the THLB are considered to have medium or

good site productivity. Major tree species include Douglas-fir, hemlock and amabilis fir (balsam), while other

species such as western redcedar, spruce, pine, alder, and cottonwood also occur. The forests of the TSA have a

long harvesting history, and as a result there are rapidly maturing second-growth forests on the lower elevation,

more accessible and higher productivity growing sites. Nearly half of the stands on the THLB are between 21

and 100 years of age.

The varied topography and forests of this TSA are home to many species of wildlife. Large mammals include

grizzly and black bear, black-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, mountain goat, cougar and wolf, as well as isolated

populations of moose. Small mammals are diverse and abundant. The nutrient-rich, protected waters of the

various estuaries in the TSA provide shelter and food for many waterfowl species, from ducks, Canada geese

and gulls to eagles and ospreys. Large wintering congregations of harlequin duck, bald eagle, trumpeter swan

and Barrow‘s golden eye duck also occur in coastal waters throughout the TSA. Several species of raptor are

found within the TSA, including pygmy owl, saw-whet owl, barred owl, western screech owl, Cooper‘s hawk,

red-tailed hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, merlin, kestrel and golden eagle in remote valleys. The TSA is also home

to several species which have been identified as species at risk such as: the Marbled Murrelet, the Queen

Charlotte goshawk, two Vananda Creek stickleback species, the Coastal Tailed frog and the Great Blue heron.

According to the BC Stats, the population of the TSA in 2009 was 49,758 persons, more than half of which live

in the communities of Powell River, Sechelt and Gibsons.

Other smaller communities within the TSA include Halfmoon Bay, Pender Harbor and Lund, as well as

communities on Texada, Cortes and Lasqueti Islands.

The chief forester last determined the AAC on December 20, 2001, setting it at 1 143 000 cubic metres effective

January 1, 2002. In June of 2004 he postponed the next AAC determination to no later than December 31, 2011

under Section 8(3.1) of the Forest Act. In February 2007, to account for land added to the TSA from TFL 10 by

order under Section 3(2) of the Forest Revitalization Act, the chief forester increased the AAC by 54 949 cubic

metres to the current level of 1 197 949 cubic metres. The AAC contains a partition of 98 000 cubic metres for

deciduous-leading stands and 1 099 949 cubic metres for conventional (coniferous) stands.

For more information about the Sunshine Coast TSA please visit the following internet site:

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa39/

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa39/


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1.2 First Nations

Thirteen First Nations have traditional territory in the Sunshine Coast TSA. Five of the First Nations also have

reserve lands (the shíshálh First Nation, the Sliammon First Nation, the Xwémalhkwu First Nation, the

Klahoose First Nation and the Squamish First Nation). The other eight First Nations with traditional territory

are the We Wai Kai First Nation, Wei Wai Kum First Nation, Kwiakah First Nation, the Snaw‘Naw‘As First

Nation, Qualicum First Nation, Líl‘wat First Nation, the Xeni Gwet‘in First Nations Government, and the

Ulkatcho First Nation.

The shíshálh First Nation has traditional territory, reserves and areas known as ‗Sechelt Band Lands‘ covering

Jervis, Sechelt, Narrows and Clowhom inlets and the majority of the members reside in Sechelt. The Sliammon

First Nation has six reserves and traditional territory located around Powell River. The Klahoose First Nation

has a reserve and office in Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island and other reserves and traditional territory extending

up Toba Inlet into the Toba River valley. The Squamish Nation has reserves and traditional territory in Howe

Sound, the Squamish River valley and the lower mainland with their offices located in North Vancouver. The

Xwémalhkwu First Nation has traditional territory in Bute Inlet and the band office is located in Campbell

River. These five First Nations have a combined population of over 4800 people located both on and off their

various reserves.

Archaeological Overview Assessments (AOA) have been completed for portions of the Sunshine Coast TSA.

AOAs are the basis for determining areas and sites that may require further assessment in the form of an

Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA). AIAs are carried out as part of operational planning. Known

archaeological sites are considered in this timber supply review.

Many First Nations‘ members participate in the forest sector and several First Nations have obtained volume

and/or area based tenures within the Sunshine Coast TSA. First Nations have also expressed concern about the

impact of logging on water, fishery and heritage resources and spiritual ceremonial sites in their traditional

territories. The Sunshine Coast Forest District attempts to address these concerns through cooperative planning

processes, and during consultation on Forest Stewardship Plans.

1.21 Treaty Settlement Lands

The Sliammon Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) has been ratified. This AIP includes 6000 hectares of Treaty

Settlement Lands, all of which is provincial Crown land within the Sunshine Coast TSA. It consists of several

blocks, the largest being adjacent to Okeover Inlet and Sliammon Lakes, one block in the ―Edgehill‖ area

immediately east of the Municipality of Powell River and one small block at Pocahontas Bay on the east side of

Texada Island. These lands have been designated by Ministerial Order as Sliammon Designated Area No. 2. With a few minor exceptions this order prohibits the issuance of permits, licences or plans under the Forest Act,

essentially excluding these lands from timber harvesting. This designation expires August 6, 2011.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/legsregs/forest/faregs/sliammon/

Within the Sechelt First Nation‘s traditional territory, 939 hectares of former AIP Lands were identified at

Deserted Bay, Brittain River, Narrows Inlet, Vancouver Bay and Chapman Creek; however, they were never

ratified and have since expired. They are still covered under Map Notation MN1116. While there is no

prohibition on the issuance of permits and licences, these areas inherently require a higher level of consultation.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/legsregs/forest/faregs/sliammon/


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2. Current Forest Management Considerations and Issues

2.1 Base case management assumptions

These assumptions reflect current performance with respect to the status of forest land, forest management

practices and knowledge of timber growth and yield. The harvest forecast developed from these assumptions is

termed the base case harvest forecast and is used as a reference to which other development scenarios are

compared using the Forest Service Spatial Analysis Model (FSSAM). While there may be uncertainty

associated with the assumptions used to develop the base case, these uncertainties are examined by conducting

sensitivity analysis (see Section 7).

2.2 Major forest management considerations and issues

The following table lists major forest management issues and considerations. Where possible, the issues will be

assessed directly in the timber supply analysis. If the issue does not fall within the definition of current

management as described in Section 1, the related timber supply impacts will be considered during the

allowable annual cut determination. There may be significant uncertainties in defining some current

management issues. In such cases, sensitivity analysis can assist in assessing the potential timber supply

implications and assigning degrees of risk to timber supply during the allowable annual cut determination.

Table 1. Major forest management considerations in the Sunshine Coast TSA

Consideration/issue Description

Landscape-level biodiversity

Old Growth Management Areas (OGMAs)

Landscape unit (LU) boundaries and biodiversity emphasis objectives (BEO) were established under the Order Establishing Provincial Non-Spatial Old Growth Objectives, which came into effect June 30, 2004.

Landscape Unit Plans have been completed for five LUs (Bunster, Homathko, Skwawka, Chapman and Sechelt) and OGMAs (approved) have been established in them. OGMAs (draft and proposed) have been identified in 14 LUs (Bute West, Bute East, Cortes, Howe, Brittain, Haslam, Texada, Southgate, Quatam, Jervis (Deserted), Homfray, Brem, Narrows and Salmon Inlet). Approved, draft and proposed OGMAs will not be available for timber harvest. Two LUs within the TSA (Bishop and Toba) have no mapped OGMAs, and in these LUs non-spatial old growth objectives will apply.

Stand-level biodiversity In areas covered by approved landscape unit plans, the specified wildlife tree patch retention percentage will be used in the analysis. In other areas 7% will be retained in wildlife tree patches as per the Forest and Range Practices Act.

Riparian management A predictive geographic classification model has been used to assign stream classifications which have prescribed management regimes. Lakes and wetlands have assigned classifications with prescribed management regimes.


5


Conservation of ungulate winter range (Mountain Goats and deer)

Under the authority of Section 7(2) of the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation (B.C. Reg. 14/04) up to 54 096 hectares may be constrained for wildlife habitat required for the winter survival of Mountain Goat, not exceeding an impact to the timber harvesting land base of 2849 hectares. An additional 431 hectares of timber harvesting land base may be constrained for Mountain Goat in the TFL-10 Instrument 15 portion of the Sunshine Coast TSA. Ungulate winter range mapping has yet to be approved. The current mapping (July 2010 Draft) of Mountain Goat winter range will be used for this timber supply review for all landscape units except Southgate. In the Southgate landscape unit January 2005 mapping will be used. Forest cover constraints for ungulates may also be applied to up to 1579 hectares. Any unused portion of the allowable impact to the timber harvesting land base may be used for a deer winter range plan.

Conservation of Grizzly Bear Habitat

Grizzly Bears are on the provincial Blue List in British Columbia. There are currently 49 approved WHAs in the TSA which maintain 4453 hectares of seasonally important habitats for Grizzly Bears. These WHAs impact the equivalent of 551 hectares of timber harvesting land base of which 331 hectares count towards the one percent mature timber harvesting land base allowance in accordance with the provincial Identified Wildlife Management Strategy (IWMS). Currently 47 hectares of the IWMS budget remain for Grizzly Bears.

Conservation of Marbled Murrelet Habitat

The Marbled Murrelet is on the Blue List in British Columbia. It is designated as Threatened in Canada (COSEWIC 2002). Currently, there are 35 approved WHAs which conserve 4312 hectares of Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat. These WHAs impact the equivalent of 640 hectares of timber harvesting land base of which 513 hectares count towards the one percent mature timber harvesting land base allowance in accordance with the provincial IWMS. Currently 135 hectares of the IWMS budget remain for the Marbled Murrelet.

Conservation of Vananda Creek Stickleback Habitat

The Vananda Creek Limnetic and Benthic Sticklebacks occur only on Texada Island in British Columbia. They are on the provincial Red List in British Columbia. In Canada, both species are designated as Endangered. Up to 678 hectares, not exceeding an impact to the mature timber harvesting land base of 237 hectares, may be conserved for Vananda Creek Sticklebacks. No Stickleback WHAs have been established to date.

Conservation of Queen Charlotte Goshawk

The Queen Charlotte Goshawk is on the provincial Red List in British Columbia. It is designated as Threatened in Canada (COSEWIC 2002). Up to 1000 hectares, not exceeding an impact to the mature timber harvesting land base of 213 hectares may be conserved for the Queen Charlotte Goshawk. No Goshawk WHAs have been established to date.


6


Conservation of Coastal Tailed Frog

The Coastal Tailed Frog is on the provincial Blue List in British Columbia. It is designated as a species of Special Concern in Canada (COSEWIC 2002). Up to 30 hectares, not exceeding an impact to the mature timber harvesting land base of 20 hectares may be conserved for the Coastal Tailed Frog. No Tailed Frog WHAs have been established to date.

Protection of archaeological sites Archaeological Overview Assessments (AOA) and Archaeological Impact Assessments (AIA) are used to identify potential archaeological sites which include cultural, habitat and historic sites. When field verified the areas are excluded from logging.

Protection of water quality within community watersheds

Management practices needed to protect water quality in the 25 designated community watersheds mapped by the Ministry of Environment will be modelled using forest cover requirements.

Visual landscape management Established visual quality objectives will be modelled to reflect the current level of management for scenic values.

Currency of the Vegetation Resource Inventory (VRI)

A re-inventory begun in 2002 is currently underway. Results will be ready for the next timber supply review. An updated forest cover inventory based on the 1993 VRI will be used for this timber supply review.

Operability Operability consists of two distinct zones; conventional and helicopter logging. The criteria to develop the operability mapping was defined in the last timber supply review (TSR 2) and has been updated with licensee input in 2010.

Site productivity (site index adjustments (SIA))

The site productivity of old-growth stands has been shown to underestimate the productivity of regenerated stands. To address this adjusted potential site index (PSI) values will be used as inputs for managed stand yield tables (i.e., for regenerated stands).

Potential site index estimates based on field sampling provided by Timberline Natural Resource Group (now TECO) (March 2010) will be applied in this timber supply review.

Deciduous forest types The annual allowable cut contains 98 000 cubic metres for deciduous volume. Weyerhaeuser Company Limited is apportioned 95 000 cubic metres of this volume coming from deciduous-leading stands in which at least 50% of the gross stand volume is made up of deciduous species.


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Independent power projects (IPP) Currently within the Sunshine Coast TSA there is approximately 100 kilometres of transmission line built on right-of-way varying between 20 metres and 200 metres in width depending on the capacity of the specific transmission line. Proposed in the current call to power is another 6.7 kilometres of transmission line with the potential for another 6.0 kilometres. Currently under review is the Bute Inlet Hydro Project that could possibly add another 300 kilometres of transmission line within the TSA.

At this time there is no data showing an impact analysis to the timber supply. There are two types of impacts: 1) The IPP footprint (transmission line, penstock, power house, and access roads) and 2) The impact on harvesting i.e. isolation of timber, working around transmission lines, visual constraints.

Treaty settlement lands for the Sechelt and Sliammon First Nations

The Sliammon AIP includes 6000 hectares of Treaty Settlement Lands of which is provincial Crown land within the Sunshine Coast TSA.

These lands have been designated by Ministerial Order as Sliammon Designated Area No. 2. With a few minor exceptions this order prohibits the issuance of permits, licences or plans under the Forest Act, essentially excluding the areas from timber harvesting. This designation expires August 6, 2011.

Within the Sechelt’s traditional territory a number of former AIP were identified totaling 939 hectares; however they were never ratified and have since expired. They are still covered under a Map Notation. While there is no prohibition on the issuance of permits and licences, these areas inherently require a higher level of consultation.


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3. Inventories

3.1 Background information

Table 2 lists the inventories that will be used to determine the timber harvesting land base and to model forest

management activities.

Table 2. Inventory information

Data Source Date of compilation Vintage/(update)

Sunshine Coast TSA Administrative Boundary and Timber Supply Blocks

LRDW January 2010

Pacific TSA Blocks 21, 22 & 23 LRDW April 2010

Woodlots and Community Forest Agreement Areas

LRDW April 2010

Tree Farm Licences LRDW January 2010

Parks and protected areas LRDW January 2010

Ownership and Land Administration (forest cover ownership)

MFR 2008

TFL10 Instrument 15 – Take-back area

ILMB April 2010

Timber licences LRDW January 2010

Vegetation Resources Inventory (VRI) — forest cover

LRDW January 2010 1993 (2009)

Forest cover TFL 10 take-back Interfor March 2010

Inventory disturbance Update – Non-standard overlay

MFR May 2010

Operability mapping MFR January 2010 2002 (2010)

Archeological data — Known Arch Sites

LRDW November 2009 2009

Unstable terrain mapping MFR May 2010

ESAs MFR – RCO January 2010

FTEN recreation sites and reserves

LRDW April 2010


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Data Source Date of compilation Vintage/(update)

Approved wildlife habitat areas (WHAs)

LRDW January 2010

Proposed Vananda Creek Stickleback WHA

MOE – Surrey March 2010

Proposed ungulate winter range MOE – Surrey July 2010 2005 (2010)

Approved old-growth management areas (legal OGMAs)

LRDW January 2010

Draft old-growth management areas (non-legal OGMAs – Britain, Bute West, Bute East, Cortes, Haslam, Howe, Texada)

LRDW January 2010

Proposed old-growth management areas from licensees (Homfray, Jervis, Quatam, Southgate)

Interfor March 2010

Permanent sample plots (PSP) LRDW January 2010

Landscape unit boundaries LRDW January 2010

Biogeoclimatic classification LRDW January 2010

Community watersheds LRDW January 2010

Visual landscape inventory LRDW January 2010

Community interface zone MFR – Coast Region

April 2010

Recreation features inventory LRDW March 2010

Data source and comments:

These data for the Sunshine Coast TSA administrative area will be extracted from its source and converted to

ESRI‘s Arc Info coverage format in preparation for the timber supply analysis. These inventories are listed in

the order in which they are first used in the document. A more comprehensive table for the data set prepared for

the timber supply review is available from the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch, MFR.


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4 Division of the Area into Management Zones

4.1 Management zones and tracking of multiple objectives (grouping)

Management zones are used to differentiate areas with distinct management objectives. For example, a zone

may be based on a harvesting or silviculture system, visual quality objective or wildlife consideration.

Sometimes an area of forest is subject to more than one management objective. In the timber supply model,

each type of zone can be tracked separately, thereby allowing application of overlapping management

objectives. Forest land that is unavailable for timber harvesting may contribute toward meeting objectives for

other forest values.

Table 3 outlines the zones or objectives incorporated into the timber supply model. Further information on the

forest cover requirements to be applied to these areas can be found in Section 6.4, ―Integrated resource

management.‖

Table 3. Objectives to be tracked

Objectives Inventory definition

Landscape units, biodiversity emphasis options (BEOs) and biogeoclimatic (BEC) inventory

Provincial BEC inventory and established landscape units and BEOs. Approved and draft OGMAs will be used in the base case where they have been identified. Where they have not been, the recommended seral stage distribution for the biogeoclimatic unit will be modelled.

Goat winter range Winter range for goats was identified by MOE in 2005 (proposed) and subsequently updated to July 2010. Goat winter range is designated as retention zone. Goat winter range retention zone excludes timber harvesting.

Community watersheds Community watersheds have been identified and modified harvesting practices are permitted (see Appendix).

Visuals

Visual polygons modelled by visual quality objective (VQO) and assigned visual absorption capacities (VAC). VQOs include preservation, retention, partial retention and modification. VAC include low, medium and high (see Appendix).

Cutblock adjacency Non-visual areas modelled by cutblock size distribution by landscape unit.

Community interface areas Communities along the Strait of Georgia where timber harvesting may be contentious. Defined by a coverage created for this analysis. A significant number of historic trails that have not been established or authorized either under the Forest and Range Practices Act or the Forest Practices Code are found here. When operating in these areas licensees often take measures to protect these trails. Reduced rates of harvest in the interface areas will be modelled to account for the impact of restricted harvesting practices (see Appendix).


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4.2 Analysis units

An analysis unit is composed of forest stands with similar tree species composition, timber growing potential

and treatment regimes. Each analysis unit is assigned its own timber volume projection (yield table) for existing

and future stands. Yields tables for existing natural stands are derived using the Variable Density Yield

Prediction (VDYP) model. Yield tables for existing managed stands and future stands are derived using the

Table Interpolation Program for Stand yields (TIPSY).

A site index adjustment project has been completed (March 2010) for stands where Douglas-fir, hemlock and

cedar are the leading species. Post-harvest site indices have been assigned to these stands which will be used to

develop managed stand yield tables for both existing and future managed stands.

Table 4 shows the criteria for defining the analysis units for existing natural stands. Site index ranges for

analysis units have been determined for the full timber harvesting land base.

Table 4. Definition of analysis units

Analysis unit

Leading species (B.C. Tree Codes)

Site index range (height in metres, at age 50 years)

1. Douglas-fir (Fd) – good F (Fd, Fdc, Fdi) > 27

2. Douglas-fir (Fd) – medium F (Fd, Fdc, Fdi) 19 to 27

3. Douglas-fir (Fd) – poor F (Fd, Fdc, Fdi) < 19

4. Cedar – good/medium C, Y (Cw, Yc) ≥ 17

5. Cedar – poor C, Y (Cw, Yc) < 17

6. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – good H, B, S (Hm, Hw, Ba, Bg, Bl, Se, Ss) > 23

7. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – medium

H, B, S (Hm, Hw, Ba, Bg, Bl, Se, Ss) 15 – 23

8. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – poor H, B, S (Hm, Hw, Ba, Bg, Bl, Se, Ss) < 15

9. Pine – good/medium/poor(a)

P, L, A (except Act), E, M (except

Mb), W, U All

10. Red Alder(b)

D (Dr) All

11. Cottonwood/Maple Act, Mb All

a) Also includes any incidental larch-leading stands and some deciduous stands having a logging history.

b) Red alder-leading stands with at least 50% deciduous volume.


The site index refers to the height of the tree in metres when its breast height age is 50 years. The amount of

area in each analysis unit can be found in the appendix.


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5. Timber Harvesting Land Base Definition

This section outlines the steps that will be used to identify the Crown forested land base and the timber

harvesting land base (THLB). The Crown forested land base consists of provincial Crown land that is managed

by the BC Forest Service for TSA timber supply. The Crown forested land base excludes:

tree farm licences;

community forests;

Pacific TSA;

woodlot licences; and

private lands.

The THLB is that portion of the Crown forested land base where timber harvesting is expected to occur. The

THLB excludes:

parks and protected areas;

areas that are not suitable for timber production; and

areas where timber harvesting is incompatible with management objectives for other resource values.

Land is considered outside the THLB only where harvesting is not expected to occur. Any area in which some

timber harvesting will occur remains in the THLB, even if the area is subject to other management objectives,

such as wildlife habitat and biodiversity. These objectives are modelled in the timber supply analysis. The

Crown forested land base outside of the THLB also contributes to these other objectives.

Land may be added to the THLB in the following situations:

where management activities improve productivity or operability (e.g., the stocking of land currently

classified as non-commercial brush with commercial tree species);

through the acquisition of productive forest land (e.g., timber licence reversions).

After all the areas that do not contribute to the THLB have been identified the resulting area is defined as the

current timber harvesting land base for the TSA.

5.1 Land outside the core TSA

The legal boundary of the Sunshine Coast TSA, which coincides with the Sunshine Coast Forest District

boundary, contains several areas of significant size within the perimeter of the TSA that do not contribute to

TSA timber supply and do not contribute to other objectives for the Sunshine Coast TSA when assessing timber

supply. These areas are: Tree Farm Licences 39 and 43, Pacific TSA, CFA K4C — Klahoose Forestry Limited

Partnership, CFA K3G — Powell River Community Forest Ltd, CFA K3F — Sechelt‘ Community Projects Inc.

and CFA K3P — Tla‘amin Timber Products Ltd.

5.2 Non-forest, non-productive forest and non-commercial cover

Areas classified as ―non-treed and vegetated‖ (VN) as well as alpine, wetland, lakes, rocks, shrubs etc. are

excluded from the THLB. The exceptions are harvested areas that have little or no trees but are scheduled to be

regenerated in the near future. Areas classified as ‗not forest management land base‘ (FMLB = 0) in the

vegetation resource inventory will be will be excluded from the THLB.


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5.3 Land not administered by the BC Forest Service for TSA timber supply

Land not administered by the BC Forest Service for timber supply in the TSA includes private land, municipal

land, federal land, Indian Reserves, tree farm licences, community forest agreements, and woodlot licences.

Some of these areas have already been excluded from the core TSA in Section 5.1. These areas are all excluded

from both the Crown forested land base (CFLB) and the THLB; they do not contribute to objectives for wildlife

habitat or biodiversity. Timber licences are normally also removed, but many of the timber licences in the

Sunshine Coast TSA have been harvested and have reverted to the TSA.

Parks and protected areas within the core TSA are part of the Crown forested land base and contribute to

objectives for biodiversity and wildlife. However, they are not administered by the BC Forest Service for

timber supply, so they are excluded from the THLB. Table 5 shows the contribution of each ownership to the

CFLB and the THLB.

Table 5. Ownership contributions

Ownership code

Crown forested

land base

Timber harvesting land base

40 Private Crown Grant No No

50 Federal Reserve No No

52 Indian Reserve No No

53 Military Reserve No No

54 Dominion Crown Block No No

60 Crown Ecological Reserve Yes No

61 Crown Use, Recreation and Enjoyment of the Public (UREP) Reserves

Yes Schedule C: Yes Schedule N: No

62 Crown Forest Management Unit (TSA) or Crown Timber Agreement Lands

Yes Yes

63 Crown Provincial Park Class A Yes No

67 Crown Provincial Park equivalent or Reserve Yes No

69 Crown Miscellaneous Reserves Yes Schedule C: Yes Schedule N: No

70 Crown Active Timber Licence in a TSA or TFL Yes Schedule N: Yes Schedule C: No

72 Crown and Private Schedule ―A‖ and ―B‖ Lands in a TFL

No No

74 Crown and Private timber alienated in watershed No No

75 Crown Christmas tree permit Yes No

77 Crown and Private Woodlot Licence No No

79 Community Forest No No

99 Crown Misc. lease (Fairground, R&G Club site, recreation cottage site

No No


14


The Ownership and Land Administration data set, along with the Vegetation Resource Inventory are the primary

data sets used to determine land classified as Crown forest. A number of changes to the Ownership and Land

Administration data set have occurred since its last update in 2008.

Additional information will be included in the data set created for the timber supply analysis to address recent

changes in land administration within the Sunshine Coast TSA‘s administrative area. This information is

contained in the following inventories (see Table 2 for further details about the inventories):

Land deleted under the Forest Revitalization Act from TFL 10 now administered as TSA

Under Instrument Number 15, 69 171 hectares of Schedule B Crown land was removed from Tree Farm

Licence 10 and is now administered as part of the Sunshine Coast TSA.

Timber licence areas reverted back to 62-C

The following timber licences have reverted back to 62-C since the last timber supply review:

T0383 T0656 T0712 T0800 T0851

T0392 T0661 T0780 T0804 T0863

T0395 T0669 T0788 T0812

T0404 T0704 T0790 T0842

Parks and protected areas

The parks and protected areas layer in the land and resource data warehouse will be used to capture any recent

changes in park boundaries.

5.4 Inoperable areas

Operability codes are generally used to describe the presence or absence of physical and economic barriers that

limit harvesting. Since physical and economic conditions are highly variable throughout British Columbia,

interpretation and mapping may vary between management units. Definitions of operable may also change over

time as technologies evolve and markets change.

Current operability for most of the Sunshine Coast TSA is based on mapping completed by the British Columbia

Forest Service in 1992. This mapping was updated for some areas of the TSA in 1998 and again in 2010 when

licensees were asked to review their chart areas and provide an estimate of where future harvest would occur

beyond the current operable areas. Proposed operability changes were reviewed by Sunshine Coast Forest

District staff and added to the existing operability map. Overall, changes to operability were minor.

Table 6. Description of operable areas

Inventory description Code Reduction (%)

Operable areas – conventionally accessible

A 0

Operable areas – helicopter accessible C 0

Inoperable areas I 100

Inoperable areas – not reported N 100


15


Changes in the Operability inventory are captured in the following inventories (see Table 2 for further details on

the inventories). Information in these inventories overrides information in the operability inventory.

Inventory disturbance update – non-standard overly

Mapped depletions (recent harvesting) since 2002 will be considered operable. This inventory will be used to

update the age of the forest cover within the depletion polygon also.

RESULTS openings

Any forest cover polygon in the veg_comp inventory having a logging history, as indicated by a RESULTS

Opening Id, will be considered operable.

Licensee supplied future harvest blocks

Area having a designated harvest system will be considered operable. This inventory allows future harvest

blocks to be categorized as conventionally or helicopter accessible.

5.5 Sites with low timber growing potential and problem forest types

Sites may have low productivity either because of inherent site factors (e.g., poor nutrient availability, exposure,

excessive moisture, etc.), or because they are not fully occupied by commercial tree species. Typically, these

stands are intermixed with other stands within the forested land base. As these stands are not considered to be

harvestable, they need to be identified and excluded from the THLB.

Problem forest types are stands that are physically operable and exceed low site criteria that are not currently

utilized or have marginal merchantability. Where logging has not occurred, these types are wholly or partially

excluded from the THLB. Table 7 lists the stand types that will be excluded due to low volume and

productivity.

Table 7. Description of sites with low timber growing potential and problem forest types(a)

Species group

Analysis unit(s)

Volume(b)

(m³/ha)

Site index (m)

(c)

Reduction

(d)

Fir (1) Fir – good, (2) Fir – medium and (3) Fir – poor

< 300 < 15.5 100%

Cedar (4) Cedar – good/medium and (5) Cedar – poor

< 300 < 13.5 100%

Hemlock/ Balsam/ Spruce

(6) Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – good, (7) Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – medium, (8) Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – poor

< 300 < 12.0 100%

Pine (9) Pine Any Any 100%

Red Alder (10) Red Alder < 250 < 12 100%

Cottonwood/ Maple

(11) Cottonwood/Maple < 300 < 12 100%

a) Only stands without any prior logging history (‗Activity‘ = ‗L‘) are removed from the timber harvesting land base.

b) Current VRI volume at prescribed utilization limits and based on a review of 3500 appraisal records.

c) Based on stands not being able to achieve 300 m³/ha by age 150.

d) For a stand to be excluded it should fail to meet both the minimum volume and site index requirements.


16


Areas with a low timber growing potential that have been logged will contribute to the THLB as these sites once

supported merchantable timber and may do so in the future.

Unmerchantable forest types are stands which are physically operable and exceed low site criteria yet are not

currently utilized. These types can be wholly or partially excluded from the THLB.

5.6 Cultural heritage resource reductions

Archaeological resource values primarily relate to First Nations historic village sites and shell middens as well

as culturally modified trees (CMTs). Historic village sites and shell middens are most frequently identified

close to marine shorelines; whereas, CMTs are generally found within remaining old-growth forest types, most

often red- or yellow-cedar leading forests.

Archeological sites have been discovered and catalogued during the archaeological impact assessments. In the

analysis these sites, which are protected under the Heritage Conservation Act, will receive a 50-metre buffer,

and the total area will be excluded from the THLB.

5.7 Experimental and permanent sample plots

All experimental and permanent plots will receive a 100-metres buffer and the total area will be excluded from

the THLB based on a 100 metres radius buffer around each plot. There are currently 32 growth and yield and 30

research plots that once buffered will result in an impact of 196 hectares to the timber harvesting land base.

5.8 Sites with unstable terrain

The unstable terrain layer was created from a combination of data sources: Terrain Stability mapping from

Interfor and BCTS, slopes > 60% from TRIM, and ESA Soils from forest cover (f_own) data.

Table 8. Description of sites with unstable terrain

Terrain stability

code

Operability code

Slope class

ESA Soils

Description

Reduction

V Any Any Terrain stability class V 100%

IV Any Any Terrain stability class IV 30%

NULL A,C 2 Slopes > 60%, outside of terrain stability class mapping, inside operable area

32.3%

NULL Soils attributes in ESA_1 and ESA_2 outside terrain stability class mapping and slopes > 60%, inside operable area.

The unstable terrain layer was created from a combination of Terrain Stability mapping, slopes > 60% and soil

sensitive polygons.


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5.9 Established recreation reserves and sites

Recreation tenures in the FTEN recreation polygon coverage obtained from the LRDW which have been

established (Table 9) under the Government Actions Regulation (GAR) will be removed from the timber

harvesting land base.

Table 9. Established recreation reserves and sites in the Sunshine Coast TSA

Forest file Id

Project name

Feature area (ha)

REC0489 Appleton Creek Site & Trail 12.4

REC5890 Big Tree Trail & Picnic 43.5

REC0139 Bob’s Lake 48.9

REC6516 Dakota Ridge 936.1

REC0287 Dinner Rock 31.6

REC6670 Freke Anchorage 3.9

REC0134 Klein Lake 132.8

REC0283 Lyon Lake 65.0

REC3211 McMurray Bay 21.0

REC6206 Sechelt Heritage Forest 22.6

REC0383 Secret Cove Falls Trail 17.4

REC0140 Shingle Beach 45.5

REC6768 Sprockids Trail 48.2

REC6604 Stuart Island 52.4

Total 1 481.3


Recreation sites and trails inventory data was examined by the TSR technical team to determine which sites and

trails are currently covered by a GAR order. Table 9 lists such recreation areas in the Sunshine Coast TSA.

Often the GAR order includes a harvest restriction or exclusion as a measure to protect a recreation area.

Sometimes, some harvesting is permitted in a recreation area under and authorization issued through Section 16

of the Forest Recreation Regulation.

In this analysis, forest management measures associated with other trails are addressed by applying forest cover

constraints. Because trail development is heaviest near communities a more restrictive forest cover requirement

is applied in the community interface zone (see Section 6.4.1, ―Forest cover requirements‖).


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5.10 Wildlife habitat area reductions

Wildlife habitat areas for grizzly bears, marbled murrelet, Vananda Creek Sticklebacks, and ungulate winter

range for mountain goat have been mapped and the mapped data is available in corporate and local data

warehouses (See Section 3). These areas will be excluded from the timber harvesting land base. For other

species such as deer, the Coastal Tailed Frog and the Queen Charlotte Goshawk, areas for exclusion from the

timber harvesting land base have not been identified. Future timber harvesting land base reductions for these

species may be considered by the chief forester at the time of the AAC determination but will not be accounted

for in the determination of the timber harvesting land base.

The specific wildlife orders and wildlife habitat areas are listed in the table below.

Table 10. Description of wildlife orders and WHAs for the Sunshine Coast TSA

Type Species Description and management activity

Approved WHAs

Grizzly Bear Forty-nine WHAs have been established, located in Brem, Bute East, Bute West, Deserted, Homathko and Skwawka Landscape Units. These WHAs cover 4453 hectares and impact an equivalent of 551 hectares of THLB and 331 hectares of mature THLB. No forestry practices should be carried out within these WHAs with the exception of treatments approved by the statutory decision maker to restore or enhance degraded habitat or to ensure wind firmness.

Approved WHAs

Marbled Murrelet

Thirty-five WHAs have been established, located in Brittain, Bunster, Howe, Quatam and Southgate Landscape Units. These WHAs cover 4312 hectares and impact an equivalent of 640 hectares of THLB and 513 hectares of mature THLB. No harvesting and silviculture should be carried out within these WHAs except for salvage.

Draft WHA

Vananda Creek Sticklebacks

These two species occur only in the Emily, Priest, and Spectacle lakes in the Van Anda Creek watershed on Texada Island. No harvesting or salvage is allowed in the core area of the WHA. The core area covers 221 hectares of THLB.

Section 7 Draft Maps

Mountain Goat Goat winter range covers 48 422 hectares based on the mapping provided for this timber supply review, impacting 24 485 hectares of productive forest. No harvesting will be carried out within the goat winter range.

Section 7 Notice

Queen Charlotte Goshawk

WHAs yet to be established for this species. General wildlife measures include no harvest or salvage within the core area of the WHA. Up to 213 hectares of mature timber harvesting land base may be impacted in the future, 1000 hectares in total.

Section 7 Notice

Coastal Tailed Frog

WHAs yet to be established for this species. General wildlife measures include no harvest of salvage within the core area of the WHA. Up to 20 hectares of mature timber harvesting land base may be impacted in the future, 30 hectares in total.


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5.11 Old growth management areas (OGMAs)

An old growth management area (OGMA) is defined in the BCFPC Operational Planning Regulation as an area

established under a higher level plan which contains or is managed to replace structural old growth attributes.

OGMAs have been approved for 8 of 25 landscape units within the Sunshine Coast Forest District. OGMAs

have been identified in 15 other landscape units and current practice for the licensee‘s is to treat the areas as

no-harvest zones. Given the no-harvest status, the identified OGMAs will be used in the base case except for

the less established proposals in the Brem, Deserted, Narrows and Salmon Inlet landscape units. Should the

OGMA land base change after the analysis is completed the impact will be reported to the chief forester so it

may be incorporated into his AAC determination. In the Bishop, Brem, Deserted, Narrows, Salmon Inlet and

Toba landscape units forest cover constraints will be used to address landscape level biodiversity requirements.


20

Table 11. Status of OGMAs by landscape unit — Sunshine Coast Forest District 2010

Landscape unit

Prov ID

Landscape unit name

Bio- diversity emphasis

Gross area (ha)

OGMA area (ha)

Status Comment

157 Bunster I 55 425 4 201 Approved

(2000.09.21)

200 Chapman L 66 151 2 891 Approved

(2002.11.25)

560 Homathko H 185 223 5 335 Approved

(2001.09.27)

759 Lois L 64 551 4 535 Approved

(2002.11.25)

Also overlaps with Pacific

TSA and TFL 39

1034 Powell Daniels I 41 277 1 552 Approved

(2002.01.25) Not TSA –

TFL 39

1035 Powell Lake L 63 488 3 234 Approved

(2002.11.25) Not TSA –

TFL 39

1112 Sechelt L 106 503 3 739 Approved

(2004.08.16)

1162 Skwawka H 38 740 2 327 Approved

(2002.03.20)

143 Brittain I 54 528 3 189 Draft (Non Legal)

167 Bute East I 75 875 2 771 Draft (Non Legal)

168 Bute West I 79 344 2 274 Draft (Non Legal)

264 Cortes I 102 900 3 932 Draft (Non Legal)

524 Haslam L 39 297 1 767 Draft (Non Legal)

579 Howe I 52 209 3 137 Draft (Non Legal)

1271 Texada L 161 010 1 792 Draft

(Non-Legal)

136 Brem I 61 139 Proposed Use constraint

1816 Deserted H 13 714 Proposed Use constraint

561 Homfray I 50 860 3 081 Proposed (Interfor)

Local data

615 Jervis I 72 172 4 547 Proposed (Interfor)

Local data

920 Narrows I 39,545 Proposed Use constraint

1054 Quatam I 52,141 2 970 Proposed (Interfor)

Local data

1099 Salmon Inlet I 68 682 Proposed Use constraint

1190 Southgate H 123 516 3 262 Proposed (Interfor)

Local data

106 Bishop I 78 780 None Identified Use constraint

1285 Toba H 175 596

None Identified Use constraint also overlaps with CFA K4C

Total 1 922 665


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5.12 Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs)

An environmentally sensitive area (ESA) is an area that is susceptible to disturbance (e.g., unstable terrain and

areas that are difficult to reforest). ESA values are used to exclude areas from the timber harvesting land base

where more specific and detailed information is not available about a particular forest resource. Areas can be

identified as either very sensitive (1) or moderately sensitive (2) to disturbance, and are entirely or partially

removed from the timber harvesting land base.

Table 12. Description of environmentally sensitive areas

ESA category

ESA description

Field reduction (%)

S1 Soils – highly sensitive 100

S2 Soils – moderately sensitive 20

A1 Avalanche hazard 100

P1 or P2 Difficult regeneration 100

H1 or H2 Watershed values 100


The ESA classification is quite dated, and in some cases; namely, wildlife, recreation, and watershed, more

recent information is available for portions of the TSA. However, where newer information is not available, the

ESA inventory represents the best available information, and will be used in the analysis.

P1 = geomorphological regeneration problems. P2 = biotic regeneration problems, ―percent area reduction‖ =

100% for both P1 and P2 areas.

With respect to ESA H1 and H2 (watershed values), some of these may fall within community watersheds

(under the community watersheds – see Table 2 ―Inventory Information‖, as well as the ―community watershed

– management zone‖). (N.B.: care will be taken to not double-count H1 and H2 areas with community

watershed inventory information source or community watershed – management zone netdowns).

ESA S1 and S2 (sensitive soils) was augmented by contract work done by TECO, theming TSA net timber

harvesting land base that is > 60% slope, then overlaying what terrain instability analyses has been completed to

determine the proportion of > 60% slope that falls into terrain instability classes IV and V. These proportions

will then be extrapolated to the rest of the TSA‘s net timber harvesting land base, for which slope mapping is

available, to estimate the amount of land base in instability classes IV and V. For the limited area where both

terrain stability and slope mapping is not available, the ESA soils information will be used. In these areas,

100% of S1 and 20% of S2 will be excluded from the timber harvesting land base.


22

5.13 Riparian reserve and management zones

Detailed stream inventories are not available for the Sunshine Coast TSA. Only one watershed (Deserted River)

had a complete stream inventory. An analysis of this drainage determined that 2.5% of its area is in riparian

reserves. Due to the small sample size of the available classified inventory, a decision was taken that the same

percentage (3%) as the previous TSR will be used for stream riparian reserves.

The TSR analysis will proceed without a spatial layer for stream classification.

Table 13 notes below outline the stream categories and the buffer widths that have been applied to each side of

the rivers and streams in the sample watershed (Deserted River).

Table 13. Riparian reserve and management zone buffer widths for river and streams

River/stream class Reserve

width (metres)

Management zone width

(a) (metres)

S1 large rivers 0 100

S1 fish streams 50 20




S5 non-fish streams 0 30

S6 non-fish streams 0 20

a) Fifty percent of the management zone is removed from the timber harvesting land base.

Lakes and wetlands were classified using the Riparian Management Guidebook and Table 14 outlines the

reserve and management zone buffers that have been applied to the features in the GIS file.

Table 14. Riparian reserve and management zone buffer widths for lakes and wetlands

Feature class Reserve zone

width (m) Management zone

width(a)

(m)

L1(b)

10 0

L2 10 20

L3 0 30

L4 0 30

W1 10 40

W2 10 20

W3 0 30

W4 0 30

W5 10 40

a) Fifty percent of the management zone is removed from the timber harvesting land base.

b) L1 lakes < 1000 hectares gave a 10 metre reserve zone and the management zone is determined by the district manager. L1 lakes >1000 hectares only have a management zone determined by the district manager.


23

5.14 Roads, trails and landings

Roads, trails and landings will be accounted in the analysis in one of two ways. Large roads, such as a highway

having a wide right-of-way, are categorized in the forest cover inventory as non-forest land polygons, and will

be removed from the land base considered available for timber supply (see Section 5.2.2). Smaller roads, as

well as trails and landings, are considered unproductive area within a forest cover polygon and will be factored

out of the land base considered available for timber supply. These features do not get classified in the

1:20,000 scale forest cover inventory because of their linear shape and small size.

Unclassified roads occupy 4670 hectares of land categorized as Crown forest within the Sunshine Coast TSA

(see Table 15). Without any new road construction or re-construction or maintenance much of the unclassified

road area would eventually be overgrown by forest. However, enough new road construction, re-construction

and maintenance occurs to roughly balance off road area being overgrown (as indicated by summaries of road

data over time i.e., the amount of map worthy roads is more-or-less stable). For modelling purposes it is

assumed that 4670 hectares is occupied at any given time by unclassified roads. Because the size of this TSA‘s

forest access road network appears stable, this amount of road area is assumed to stay more-or-less the same

throughout time (i.e., area lost to future road construction is offset by area gained from old roads, trails and

landings reverting back to forest).

Table 15. Summary of unclassified roads in Sunshine Coast TSA

Road type

Road status

Total (km) Roaded area (ha) Active (km)

Retired (km)

Forest Service Road 797 31 828 828

Road Permit 2854 984 3838 3838

Special Use Permit, Forest 4 0 4 4

Total 3654 1015 4670 4670


Each of the major licensee‘s on the TSRIII technical team submitted information on widths of forest access

roads. The technical team reviewed these data and derived an average road width of 10 metres. This width

allows for some area being lost to trails and landings.


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5.15 Wildlife trees (WTs) and wildlife tree patches (WTPs)

Biodiversity planning is a requirement under the Forest and Range Practices Act and is done in accordance with

the Landscape Unit Planning Guide (MFR, 1999). Objectives for retention of old growth forest and stand

structure through wildlife tree retention are described in the guide. Retention of old growth forest as it applies

here is described in Section 5.2.11.

The practice of leaving wildlife tree patches will be modelled in the timber supply analysis by reducing the land

base available for harvesting to account for trees that must be left standing in harvested areas. Where Landscape

Unit Plans exist, allowances for WTPs have been specified. For all other landscape units, and BEC variants not

specifically addressed within these plans, a seven percent WTP allowance will be made.

For application in the timber supply analysis WTP allowances have been related to the BEC subzones

(column 1) found within the Sunshine Coast TSA (Table 16). The specified WTP reduction shown in the

second column is an area weighted average based on all landscape units within the TSA. This figure was

reduced by 75% (column 3) following assumptions used in the Forest Practices Code Timber Supply Analysis,

February 1996, that 75% of the wildlife tree patch requirements will be met by riparian reserves, management

zones, non-merchantable stands, inoperable areas, steep slopes and unstable soils.

An area reduction will be used to model wildlife tree patch requirements rather than a volume reduction because

it more accurately reflects the area upon which harvesting will occur. These wildlife trees, in conjunction with

other riparian reserves and area removals, are often larger than two hectares in size and are left to maintain stand

structure within the landscape unit over time. Those wildlife tree patches that are larger than two hectares in

size this area may contribute to meeting old-seral stage forest requirements at the landscape level. By using

2006-2009 FREP sample blocks located throughout the TSA, it was found that 86% of the wildlife tree patches

were smaller than two hectares in size. It is assumed that these wildlife tree patches will not be economical to

harvest at a later date, nor will they be available to harvest in subsequent harvesting of the stand.

Table 16. Reductions to reflect volume retention in cutblocks

BEC sub-zone

Specified wildlife tree reduction (weighted)

Residual area of wildlife tree patches on the timber

harvesting land base

CDFmm 6.67% 1.67%

CWHdm 7.90% 1.98%

CWHds 7.90% 1.98%

CWHmm 7.00% 1.75%

CWHms 6.34% 1.59%

CWHvm 7.24% 1.81%

CWHxm 7.79% 1.95%

MHmm 6.62% 1.66%


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5.16 Timber licence reversions

Timber licences are a form of timber tenure that gives the holder exclusive right to harvest merchantable timber

from defined areas of Crown land. After the area is harvested and reaches a free-growing condition the land

reverts to Forest Service jurisdiction. The timber cut from timber licences is not part of the allowable annual cut

of a TSA.

For this timber supply review, all active timber licences were reviewed by BC Forest Service tenures staff and

were updated to reflect their current status. Most active timber licences have reverted and will be added back

into the CFLB and THLB (see Section 5.3, ―Land not administered by the BC Forest Service for TSA timber

supply‖). A few timber licences have not yet reverted to Forest Service jurisdiction but are expected to do so by

the next timber supply review. The area yet to revert is about 3000 hectares.


26

6. Current Forest Management Assumptions

6.1 Harvesting

6.1.1 Utilization levels

The utilization level defines the maximum stump height, minimum top diameter (inside bark) and minimum

diameter at breast height that must be removed from harvested areas. These factors are needed to calculate

merchantable stand volume for use in the analysis. The levels used in the analysis reflect current operational

practice.

Table 17. Utilization levels

Leading species Minimum dbh (cm)

Maximum stump height (cm)

Minimum top dib (cm)

Conifer except Pine > 120 years

17.5 30 10

Conifer except Pine ≤ 120 years

12.5 30 10

Pine(a)

N/A N/A N/A

Red Alder(b)

> 40 years

17.5 30 10

Red Alder(b)

≤ 40 years

12.5 30 10

Cottonwood/Maple(c)

> 40 years

17.5 30 10

Cottonwood/Maple(c)

≤ 40 years

12.5 30 10

a) Also includes any incidental larch (ITGs 33, 34), and some deciduous stands (ITG s 40, 41, 42).

b) ITG 37 or 38 and deciduous volume in stand must be 50% or more of the total volume.

c) Includes ITGs 35, 36, 39.


Table 17 above reflects current regional utilization standards, licence requirements and current performance

except for the minimum dbh (diameter at breast height) of managed stands (coniferous stands ≤ 120 years,

and deciduous stands ≤ 40 years) and minimum top dib (diameter inside bark) for stands of any sort. The

utilization standards for managed stands are a minimum dbh of 12 cm, while for natural stands above

120 years of age the minimum dib is 15 cm. The Ministry of Forests and Range yield models

(VDYP/TIPSY) currently compile volumes at 12.5 cm minimum dbh and 10 cm top dib. While the model‘s

top diameter somewhat overestimates volume yields, and the breast height diameter assumed for managed

stands somewhat underestimates volume yields, Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch of the Ministry of

Forests and Range has indicated that the difference from actual yield is negligible.

With respect to Red Alder and other merchantable deciduous species, Table 17 reflects current utilization

standards, licence requirements and current performance, except dib for deciduous stands. Current

utilization standards for deciduous stands above 40 years of age is a minimum top dib of 15 cm. However,


27

as is the case with mature coniferous volume, utilization specifications in the variable density yield

projection (VDYP) model currently compile mature deciduous volumes at 10 cm top dib. And again, Forest

Analysis and Inventory Branch of the Ministry of Forests and Range has indicated that the difference in

yield between 10 cm top dib and 15 cm top dib is negligible.

6.1.2 Volume exclusions for mixed-species stands

One or more species may be unmerchantable in mixed-species stands. For example, deciduous species may not

be harvested in a predominantly coniferous stand. The unharvested portion should not contribute to estimated

stand volume.

In the Sunshine Coast TSA, all merchantable coniferous and deciduous species are charged against AAC when

they occur within a cutblock. Aspen and birch are the only non-merchantable deciduous species within the

Sunshine Coast TSA.

Table 18. Volume exclusions for mixed-species types

Species Volume exclusion (%)

Aspen 100

Birch 100

6.1.3 Minimum harvestable age

Minimum harvestable age are, as the term implies, the minimum age at which harvesting is expected to be

feasible. While harvesting may occur in stands at the minimum requirements in order to meet forest level

objectives (e.g. maintaining over harvest level for a short period of time or avoiding large inter-decadal changes

to harvest levels), most stands will not be harvested until well past the minimum ages because other resource

values take precedence (e.g. requirements for the retention of older timber).

The criteria used to define minimum harvestable age for each stand in this analysis is minimum volume per

hectare determined by analysis unit.


28

Table 19. Minimum harvestable age criteria

Analysis unit

Criteria

Minimum volume per hectare

1. Fir – good 300 m³

2. Fir – medium 300 m³

3. Fir – poor 300 m³

4. Cedar – good, medium 300 m³

5. Cedar – poor 300 m³

6. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – good 300 m³

7. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – medium

300 m³

8. Hemlock/Balsam/Spruce – poor 300 m³

9. Pine – good, medium, poor 250 m³

10. Red Alder – good, medium, poor 250 m³

11. Cottonwood/Maple – good, medium, poor

300 m³


Minimum volume per hectare for each analysis unit was determined based on appraisal information for

Sunshine Coast TSA. The values in Table 19 reflect the absolute minimum volume at which about 99% of

stands would contain enough merchantable volume to be economical to harvest based on the appraisal. Over

3500 appraisal records dating as far back as 1996 were part of the sample for this determination. Expert opinion

was used for cottonwood and maple stands because too few records were found to make a reliable determination

on.

6.1.4 Harvest scheduling priorities

Minimum harvest levels for fir- and cedar-leading stands for the first 10 years of the base case forecast will be

set at the average harvest performance across the species profile calculated on the past nine years of harvest.

After which, the harvest level for fir- and cedar-leading stands will be set to the inventory profile.

A harvest target of 98 000 cubic metres will be set for the deciduous component of the current AAC.

Table 20. Modelling priorities for harvest scheduling

Management zone

Analysis unit

Period (10 year

increments)

Minimum harvest level

N/A Fir (1,2,3) 1 25%

N/A Cedar (4,5) 1 38%

N/A Deciduous (10,11) All 98 000


29


A non-replaceable forest licence has been awarded to Weyerhaeuser Company Limited for an annual harvest of

95 000 cubic metres.

The table below breaks down by species the annual harvest from Sunshine Coast TSA‘s Crown land for the

period between 2001 and 2009. The data was taken from the Ministry of Forests and Range‘s harvest billing

system.

Year

% of annual harvest

Cedar Fir Other conifer

Deciduous

2001 23 39 32 6

2002 24 38 34 4

2003 25 42 27 6

2004 24 42 31 3

2005 24 35 37 5

2006 25 39 32 4

2007 23 37 37 3

2008 33 31 34 2

2009 25 42 31 2

Average 25 38 33 4

6.1.5 Logging method

Conventional logging methods (i.e., cable, grapple and skidder) are the dominant harvesting systems within the

Sunshine Coast Timber Supply Area. Heli-logging is currently employed; however, the volume contribution

from areas identified as heli-operable in the operability layer will be tracked during the analysis.

Table 21 presents historical heli-logging performance within the TSA.

Table 21. Logging method

Year Heli-logging volume (m³)

Annual harvest – billed volume (m³)

Heli-logging percent of annual harvest

2002 415 074 963 079 43%

2003 262 969 687 073 38%

2004 372 013 1 484 551 25%

2005 313 307 1 266 164 25%

2006 298 237 1 145 009 26%

2007 190 109 939 835 20%

2008 79 996 952 214 8%

2009 300 730 632 245 48%


30


Heli-volume harvested estimated from the Ecommerce Appraisals System (ECAS). Not all volume in cutting

permits is harvested which creates uncertainty in some of the percentages shown in Table 21 (i.e., percent of

heli-logging may be high for 2002 and 2009 because not all permitted volume was harvested and billed).

6.1.6 Silvicultural systems

In the Sunshine Coast TSA, the majority of the area harvested is with a clearcut silvicultural system. Although

alternative silvicultural systems (e.g., partial cutting – retention) may be used adjacent to communities along the

Strait of Georgia, these systems are not used enough to warrant accounting for them in the timber supply at this

time.

6.2 Unsalvaged losses

Table 22 shows the estimated average annual unsalvaged volume loss due to catastrophic events such as insect

epidemics, fires, wind damage or other agents. The unsalvaged loss column only reflects those areas in which

the volume will not be recovered.

Table 22. Unsalvaged losses

Cause of loss Annual unsalvaged loss

(m³/year)

Wind 6 900

Fire 500

Mountain Pine Bark Beetle, Douglas-fir Bark Beetle, Spruce Beetle

250

Conifer sawfly & Hemlock L 1 000

Balsam Wooly Adelgid 200

Mammal damage and abiotic damage 300

Other abiotic damage including landslides, flooding, wind shear from snow & ice events

3 500

Total 12 650


Wind

Loss to windfall was based on 50 m³ per opening for clearcut harvested blocks with the number of cutblocks

calculated to be 115. With the increase in alternate harvesting method there has been an increase in blowdown

within harvested areas and leave trees and reserves. For these areas, losses are based on FREP data that indicate

an average of 60 m³ per cutblock.

Fire

Non-recoverable loss to wildfire has decrease significantly since the last TSR review. Pervious loss was

calculated at 5946 m³ per year. Most of the loss to fire resulted in the 1990 fire season, which had six large fires

resulting in over 59 000 m³ of timber lost and not salvaged. Data provided by Protection shows only


31

640 hectares lost to fire and most of the larger fires occurred within areas considered outside to operability lines.

Fires of five hectares and under are accounted for in NRL calculations.

Mountain Pine, Douglas-fir & Spruce Beetle

Some increase in Douglas-fir beetle activity over the past five years, some active salvage has occurred.

Estimate 250 m³ per year NRL, modest increase.

Defoliator Damage – Conifer Sawfly & Hemlock Looper

Conifer sawfly damage has decreased since last TSR review. Major hemlock looper outbreak in Howe Sound

area resulted in considerable mortality in the Rainy River & McNab Creek area has occurred since 2000.

Salvage operations have recovered @ 70 000 m³ and some of the unsalvaged material is accounted for under the

cruised based sale.

Balsam Woolly Adelgid

BWA has spread in range within the Sunshine Coast Forest District. It has been confirmed in four new sites in

the past three years north of Jervis Inlet. Mortality remains low and estimate NRL of 200 m³ per year.

Mammal Damage & Abiotic Damage

Black bear damage and volume loss has increased within the Ramsay Arm, Quatam River and lower Toba Inlet

over the past 10 years. Larger diameter Douglas-fir has been damaged and killed within the Quatam River area.

A flight last spring revealed trees of over 40 centimetres in diameter and over 25 metres in height have been

killed. Damage in younger managed stands has increased and mortality levels are over 40% in some

plantations. Another consideration is decay within damaged trees and long term implications. Some of the

early damaged juvenile spaced stands are showing mortality from decay. Wounding from bear damage has

weakened the stem, with wind and snow resulting in breakage, killing the tree, projected to contribute future

volume loss.

Other Abiotic losses include, landslide events, flooding, wind shear from snow & ice events

A major slide event occurred in 2006 in the Potlatch Creek area in Howe Sound, resulting in a loss of 30 000 m³

and washed out a power line. Other slide events have occurred at Sechelt Creek, since 2000, resulting in losses

of 30 000 m³.

6.3 Silviculture

6.3.1 Regeneration activities in managed stands

Recent plantations and second-growth stands, and future stands will be grown on managed stand yield

tables (MSYTs) produced using the Forest Service‘s TIPSY growth and yield model. Tables 23 and Table 24

contain the inputs required to produce MSYTs for this analysis. A MSYT may be built from a number of tables

if more than one regeneration method is used within an analysis unit. When this is the case, tables are produced

for the different regeneration methods (each method x species combination) are then aggregated into one table.


32

Table 23. Regeneration assumptions for recent plantations and second-growth stands.

Analysis unit Regeneration Genetic gain

Regen delay

OAFs % Species composition

Density

No Description Method % 1 2 Initial Thin

1 Fir – good Planted(1)

100 6.7 1.5 15 12(2)

Fd 70 Cw 30 1 200 700

2 Fir – medium Planted 100 6.7 1.5 15 12(2)

Fd 70 Cw 30 1 200 700

3 Fir – poor Planted 100 6.7 1.5 15 5 Fd 80 Cw 20 1 200 N/A

4 Cedar – g,m Planted 100 2.7 1.5 15 5 Fd 60 Cw 40 1 200 700

5 Cedar – poor Planted 60 2.7 1.5 15 5 Fd 60 Cw 40 1 200 700

Natural 40 0.0 0.0 15 5 Cw 50 Hw 50 1 200 700

6 H/B/S – good Planted 100 0.3 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Yc 50 1 200 700

7 H/B/S – medium Planted 100 0.3 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Yc 50 1 200 N/A

8 H/B/S – poor Planted 50 0.3 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Yc 50 1 200 N/A

Natural 50 0.0 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Hw 50 1 200 N/A

9 Pine – g,m,p Natural 100 0.0 1.5 15 5 Pl 100 1 200 700

10 Alder – g,m,p Planted 0 0.0 1.5 15 5 Dr 90 Fd 5 Cw 5 1 600 900

11 Cot/Maple – g,m,p Planted 100 0.0 1.5 15 5 Dr 50 Fd 25 Cw 25 1 200 N/A

Table 24. Regeneration assumptions for future stands

Analysis Unit Regeneration Genetic gain

Regen delay

OAFs % Species composition

Density

No Description Method % 1 2 Initial Thin

1 Fir – good Planted(1)

100 11.1 1.5 15 12(2)

Fd 90 Cw 10 1 200 700

2 Fir – medium Planted 100 11.1 1.5 15 12(2)

Fd 80 Cw 20 1 200 700

3 Fir – poor Planted 100 11.1 1.5 15 5 Fd 80 Cw 20 1 200 N/A

4 Cedar – g/m Planted 100 4.5 1.5 15 5 Cw 60 Fd 40 1200 700

5 Cedar – poor Planted 60 4.5 1.5 15 5 Cw 50 Fd 50 1 200 700

Natural 40 0.0 15 5 Cw 50 Hw 50 1 200 700

6 H/B/S – good Planted 50 1.0 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Cy 50 1 200 700

Natural 50 0.0 1.5 15 5 Hw 60Ba 20Cy 20 1 200 N/A

7 H/B/S – medium Planted 50 1.0 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Cy 50 1 200 N/A

Natural 50 0.0 1.5 15 5 Hw 40Ba 30Cy 30 1 200 N/A

8 H/B/S – poor Planted 50 1.0 1.5 15 5 Ba 50 Cy 50 1 200 N/A

Natural 50 0.0 1.5 15 5 Hw 35 Ba 35Cy 30 1 200 N/A

9 Pine – g,m,p Natural 100 0.0 1.5 15 5 Pl 100 1 200 700

10 Alder – g,m,p Planted 100 0.0 1.5 15 5 Dr 90 Fd 5 Cw 5 1 600 900

11 Cot/Maple – g,m,p Planted 100 0.0 1.5 15 5 Dr 50 Fd 25 Cw 25 1 200 N/A

(1) The common planting stock for all stands is 1+0.

(2) OAF contains an allowance for losses due to laminated root rot.


33

6.3.2 Stand fertilization

The Sunshine Coast Forest District has fertilized Douglas-fir stands in the past. Much of the program has been

dependant on special program funding (e.g. FIA). Therefore, fertilization has not occurred every year for the

last 25 years.

As part of the current provincial government strategy for the coast, fertilization is a key component. Therefore,

this treatment will be incorporated into managed Douglas-fir plantations with a site index less than 30 metres

where feasible.

Once Douglas-fir stands reach an age of 30 they will be treated with 400 Urea at 435 kilograms per hectare.


The table below shows the hectares treated in the annual urea fertilization program for the Sunshine Coast TSA

for the period between 2002 and 2009. The program includes both early and late rotation fertilization. The data

was provided by district staff.

Year Hectares

2002 0

2003 600

2004 30

2005 0

2006 50

2007 40

2008 3300

2009 2300

6.3.3 Immature plantation history

This section identifies areas of existing immature forest where the density (i.e., stems per hectare) is controlled

and therefore should be assigned to a managed stand yield table curve (MSYT). All NSR and stands harvested

in the future will be managed under MSYTs.

District review of plantations indicates that Douglas-fir stands less than 35 years old have had some form of

density control (natural or man-induced by spacing). These stands will be modelled as managed stands using

the TIPSY model. For other leading species plantations (hemlock, balsam, cedar and spruce) there is a great

variation in whether a stand can be considered in a managed state. For example, stands with natural hemlock

are typically very dense in stocking and would initially grow as a natural stands. In order not to overestimate

past performance in these stands they will be modelled as natural stands. All future harvested hemlock, balsam,

cedar and spruce stands will be modelled using the regeneration assumptions outlined in Table 24.

6.3.4 Not satisfactorily restocked (NSR) areas

The inventory file for the analysis is a Forest Inventory Planning (FIP) file converted into Vegetation Resource

Inventory (VRI) format. For the most part NSR will be defined by the original FIP format by which NSR is

identified as type identity 4 or 9. These type identities indicate old cutblocks which have not yet reached

free-growing status.

Openings where there are no type identity will be assessed as NSR if there is a logging history, stand attributes

or a record in the RESULTS database. Finally, recent cutovers will be updated through satellite imagery

techniques.


34

NSR is included in the timber harvesting land base.

6.3.5 Genetic gain through tree improvement

Data from the Tree Improvement Branch of the Ministry of Forests and Range indicate that Class A seed will be

used for cedar, Douglas-fir and spruce stands. The data is currently being collected and will be available for the

analysis and reported in the final timber supply analysis technical report.


35

6.4 Integrated resource management

6.4.1 Forest cover requirements

Forest cover requirements may be examined at a number of different levels, including landscape units, wildlife

areas and visual quality areas. With the requirement to retain different forest characteristics across the

landscape, it is important to identify how forest outside of the THLB may be considered in the forest cover

requirements (i.e., maximum allowable disturbance or minimum area retention). Table 25 describes the forest

cover requirements to be applied.

Table 25. Forest cover requirements

Resource objective Area target (%) Condition target Affected land base

Patch size distribution Maximum 35% Height 3 m THLB by landscape unit outside community watersheds, community

interface areas and visual areas

Visual quality objective (VQO) — preservation

Maximum 1% Height 5 m Crown forested land base for each visual unit

VQO — retention Maximum 3% Height 5 m Crown forested land base for each visual unit

VQO — partial retention (low VAC)


VQO — partial retention (medium VAC)


VQO — partial retention (high VAC)


VQO — modification Maximum 20% Height 5 m Crown forested land base for each visual unit

Community watershed Maximum 5% (1% per year)

Height 5 m Crown forested land base by community watershed

Community interface Maximum 25% Height 5 m THLB

Landscape level biodiversity — old forest retention

Area targets in Table 26 Age target for old seral forest

requirement in Table 26

Crown forested land base by landscape unit for landscape units

without identified old growth management areas (Bishop, Brem, Deserted, Narrows, Salmon Inlet,

Toba)


Patch size distribution

The maximum opening size for a harvest area is 40 hectares. The individual blocks average 10 to 15 hectares in

size. The timber supply analysis will utilize a block size distribution pattern based on the maximum opening

size. Harvesting is limited when adjacent openings have not reached a three metre green-up height.

Wildlife forest cover objectives

Many of the wildlife habitats are managed by retention management (no harvesting). Forest cover requirements

are not needed for wildlife habitats because they have been removed from the timber harvesting land base (see

Section 5.10, ―Wildlife habitat area reductions.‖)


36

Community watersheds

There are 25 community watersheds within the Sunshine Coast TSA. A generalized forest cover constraint will

be modelled in the base case based on the recommendations from the Community Watershed Guidebook for

timber supply analyses. The assumptions is no more than five percent of the area can be less than five metres

tall. This equates to a one percent harvest every year.

Landscape-level biodiversity

Management for biodiversity is a requirement under the Forest and Range Practices Act. To protect

biodiversity at the landscape level, old forest is retained in every landscape unit and natural disturbance type.

In order to ensure that the maintenance of older forests is spread out with the TSA the following forest cover

requirements (Table 26) will be applied to landscape units without any mapped old growth management areas.

These requirements are taken from the Landscape Unit Planning Guide. The landscape units are used to

simulate the geographic retention of older forest characteristics across the Sunshine Coast TSA. The numbers in

the minimum retention area column coincide with the percent requirement in year 1, 70 and 140.

Table 26. Old seral forest retention requirements

Biogeoclimatic zone

Natural disturbance

type

Biodiversity emphasis

option

Old seral stage

Minimum retention area by year (%)

Minimum

age 1 70 140

CWH 1 L 4.3 8.6 13 250

I 13 13 13 250

H 19 19 19 250

MH 1 L 6.3 12.7 19 250

I 19 19 19 250

H 28 28 28 250

CWH 2 L 3 6 9 250

I 9 9 9 250

H 13 13 13 250

CDF 2 L 3 6 9 250

I 9 9 9 250

H 13 13 13 250


37

7. Sensitivity Analyses to be Performed

Sensitivity analysis can provide a measure of the timber supply impact if uncertainty in management

assumptions and/or data integrity exists. The magnitude of the increase or decrease in a particular variable

should reflect the degree of uncertainty surrounding the assumption. For instance, minimum harvestable age

may be developed based on some minimum stand attributes which currently appear to dictate the earliest time

stands are eligible for harvest. Sensitivity analysis may indicate that a small reduction in these attributes may

alleviate anticipated harvest level reductions in the future. By developing and testing a number of sensitivity

analyses, it is possible to determine which variables most affect results. Table 27 lists the sensitivity analyses to

be undertaken as part of this timber supply review.

Table 27. Sensitivity issues

Issue to be tested Sensitivity levels

Harvest flow alternatives Various alternatives to the base case, including immediate harvesting of second growth.

Harvest priority Two priorities: a) lowest priority for natural hemlock-leading stands;

b) top priority for second-growth stands.

Harvest profile Three levels: a) take ≥ 30% of harvest from cedar-leading stands;

b) take ≥ 40% of harvest from fir-leading stands;

c) take ≤ 25% of harvest from hemlock, balsam or spruce-leading stands.

Managed stand yields Use inventory site index (unadjusted site index)

Existing natural stand yields Adjust stand yields by +/– 10%

Minimum harvestable age Adjust minimum volume criteria by +/– 15%

Land base revisions — uncertain areas

Remove highly constrained areas (e.g., community interface areas, treaty settlement areas, transmission line right-of-ways)

Land base — recreation features Sensitivity=H, Significance=VH,H; remove 100% Sensitivity=H, Significance=M; remove 50% Sensitivity=M, Significance=VH, H; remove 50%


38

Appendix A: Land base Summaries

Table A-1. Analysis unit statistics — Sunshine Coast TSA timber harvesting land base

Analysis Current timber harvesting land base Weighted average

unit (hectares) Inventory Adjusted

ID Analysis unit name <35 years >= 35 years Total site index site index

TSA-39 Inventory

1 Fir — good 6,516 13,365 19,881 31.1 33.0

2 Fir — medium 14,130 38,625 52,755 23.7 31.3

3 Fir — poor 6,074 18,502 24,576 17.1 30.8

4 Cedar — good, medium 3,506 6,851 10,357 23.3 23.4

5 Cedar — poor 1,144 3,472 4,616 14.5 21.6

6 Hemlock/Balsam/Spurce — good 3,324 14,953 18,277 27.5 28.5

7 Hemlock/Balsam/Spurce — medium 15,303 22,993 38,296 20.8 26.5

8 Hemlock/Balsam/Spurce — poor 8,139 17,426 25,566 13.1 24.7

9 Pine — incidental 450 275 725 15.2 N/A

10 Red Alder — good, medium, poor 970 12,984 13,954 23.1 N/A

11 Cottonwood/Maple — good, medium poor 242 1,586 1,828 25.7 N/A

TSA-39 Inventory Total 59,702 151,128 210,831 21.9 28.2

TFL-10 Inventory

2 Fir — medium 129 1,958 2,087 23.3 N/A

4 Cedar — good, medium 210 2,177 2,387 20.5 N/A

7 Hemlock/Balsam/Spurce — medium 991 6,094 7,085 19.9 N/A

9 Pine — incidental - 5 5 19.9 N/A

10 Red Alder — good, medium, poor - 383 383 19.9 N/A

11 Cottonwood/Maple — good, medium poor - 116 116 19.9 N/A

TFL-10 Inventory Total 1,330 10,733 12,063 20.6 N/A

Total 61,033 161,861 222,894 21.8 27.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

TSA39 FD CW H/B/S

Site

Ind

ex

(me

tre

s)

Inventory SI v Adjusted SI

INV SI ADJ SI


39

Table A-2. Timber harvesting land base determination — Sunshine Coast TSA

Classification Area in

classification (ha)

Sunshine Coast Forest District (total area) 1,937,013

Community Forest Agreements (CFAs) 187,061

Pacific TSA 26,020

Tree Farm Licences 163,507

Sunshine Coast TSA (core area) 1,560,426

Non-forest, non-productive and non-commercial 1,041,953

Productive forest in private, federal, WLs, other ownership outside management unit

62,129

Productive forest in parks and ecological reserves 30,481

Crown administered (For. Act) productive forest 425,863

Classification of Crown administered For. Act productive forest

Productive forest in classification

(ha)

Productive forest

reduced by (ha)

Percent of productive

forest (ha)

Reductions (100%) to the productive forest:

Inoperable areas 132,408 132,408 31.1%

Low sites and problem forest types 19,856 7,638 1.8%

Cultural heritage resources 187 160 0.0%

Experimental and permanent sample plots 196 196 0.0%

Sites with unstable terrain (class V) 17,371 7,426 1.7%

Established recreation reserves and sites 597 255 0.1%

Wildlife (goat winter range, approved WHA core area) 28,415 7,123 1.7%

Old growth management areas (OGMAs) 36,610 13,091 3.1%

Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs):S1,A1,P1,P2

95,545 6,100 1.4%

Buffers around lakes and wetlands 53 52 0.0%

Total 100% reductions to the productive forest: 174,448 41.0%

Productive forest wholly or partially contributing 251,414 59.0%

Partial reductions to the productive forest:

Sites with unstable terrain or blk2 partially contributing 67,896 13,477 3.2%

Wildlife (draft Stickleback, WHA buffer) 1,853 237 0.1%

Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs):S2 22,382 677 0.2%

Total partial reductions to the productive forest: 14,391 3.4%

Productive forest partially contributing 47,265 11.1%

Productive forest wholly contributing (before allowances)

204,150 47.9%

Allowance reductions to the productive forest:

Riparian reserve and management zones 425,863 7,542 1.8%

Unclassified roads 425,863 2,757 0.6%

Wildlife trees and wildlife tree patches 204,150 3,830 0.9%

Total allowance reductions to the productive forest: 14,130 3.3%

Total reduction to the productive forest: 202,969 47.7%

Timber harvesting land base (14.3% of TSA core area) 222,894 52.3%


40

Table A-3. Wildlife Habitat Areas — Sunshine Coast TSA

Species WHA No Gross (ha) CFLB (ha) PFLB (ha) THLB (ha)

Grizzly Bear 2-005 110.35 36.09 36.09 0

2-007 42.77 26.82 26.82 0

2-008 170.9 160.45 160.45 0

2-010 80.7 36.89 36.89 0

2-011 143.62 64.16 64.16 0

2-013 116.15 106.57 106.57 0

2-014 294.78 191.87 191.87 0

2-015 323.03 216.78 216.78 0

2-016 303.76 247.48 247.48 0

2-017 97.94 37.28 37.28 0

2-070 183.87 54.51 54.51 0

2-071 89.1 41.7 41.7 0

2-072 56.17 26.36 23.18 0

2-076 135.43 18.01 18.01 0

2-206 19.26 12.72 12.72 1.21

2-208 80.92 31.88 31.88 28.66

2-209 38.37 3.69 3.69 3.32

2-210 91 71.63 71.63 59.43

2-212 135.66 64.16 64.16 0

2-213 6.78 2.5 2.5 0

2-214 5.82 0.48 0.48 0.44

2-215 30.08 13.87 13.87 12.05

2-216 14.93 3.17 3.17 0

2-217 28.7 13.02 13.02 0.99

2-218 53.88 4.75 4.75 0

2-219 117.14 3.5 3.5 0

2-220 5.63 2.96 2.96 0

2-221 160.14 36.7 36.7 0.82

2-222 19.31 8.47 8.47 0

2-223 67.16 25.68 25.68 0

2-224 79.91 31.98 31.98 0

2-225 63.87 29.88 29.88 0

2-226 115.8 23.86 23.86 0

2-227 52.66 12.49 12.49 0

2-228 85.43 18.59 18.59 0

2-229 136.17 18.94 18.94 0

2-232 2.73 2.73 2.73 0.23

2-233 62.55 47.97 47.97 27.99

2-234 39.4 19.7 19.7 0.35

2-235 74.87 43.47 43.47 37.13

2-236 157.31 41.31 41.31 0

2-237 144.88 29.39 29.39 9.85

2-238 52.79 18.08 18.08 1.66

2-240 197.02 46.37 46.37 0

2-242 47.46 4.56 4.56 2.91

2-243 108.37 23.62 23.62 14.2

2-244 31.96 14.29 14.29 0.29

2-245 86.95 24.62 24.62 1.67

2-246 16.82 12 12 3.58

2-247 18.08 12.44 12.44 2.02

2-248 121.98 71.15 71.15 12.46


41

Table A-3. Wildlife Habitat Areas cont‘d — Sunshine Coast TSA

Species WHA No Gross area (ha) CFLB (ha) PFLB (ha) THLB (ha)

2-249 55.08 0 0 0

2-298 2.69 2.69 2.69 0

2-299 30.49 0 0 0

2-300 20.63 16.62 16.62 0

2-301 63.02 6.66 6.66 0

2-302 88.85 38.78 38.78 24.29

Grizzly Bear Total 4981.12 2176.34 2173.16 245.55

Marbled Murrelet 2-001 265.73 246.26 246.26 0

2-003 50.39 50.39 50.39 0

2-018 406.51 233.96 233.96 0

2-019 204.78 86.94 86.94 0

2-020 335.33 73.84 73.84 0

2-021 258.22 191.86 191.86 0

2-022 342.1 132.33 132.33 0

2-080 38.52 38.52 36.88 0

2-082 448.5 313.2 313.2 0

2-083 54.29 54.29 54.29 0

2-084 45.31 44.4 44.4 0

2-085 87.68 79.54 79.54 0

2-086 141.56 131.01 131.01 0

2-088 42.35 42.35 42.35 0

2-089 92.29 90.06 90.06 0

2-091 51.6 51.6 51.6 0

2-092 66.2 66.2 66.2 0

2-093 31.08 31.08 31.08 0

2-094 12.36 12.36 12.36 0

2-095 121.3 121.3 121.3 0

2-096 70.17 70.17 70.17 0

2-161 90.16 90.16 90.16 0

2-162 167.94 167.94 167.94 0

2-163 29.57 29.57 29.57 0

2-164 56.21 55.92 55.92 0

2-165 15.53 15.53 15.53 0

2-166 35.67 27.92 27.92 0

2-167 7.01 7.01 7.01 0

2-168 8.56 6.49 6.49 0

2-169 10 7.77 7.77 0

2-170 91.39 91.39 91.39 0

2-171 9.04 9.04 9.04 0

Marbled Murrelet Total 3687.35 2670.4 2668.76 0

Grand Total 8668.47 4846.74 4841.92 245.55


42

Table A-4. Visual Landscape Inventory Summary — Sunshine Coast TSA

VQO

Landscape Unit Unit P R PR M Grand Total

Brem CFLB (ha) 0 0 868 1,843 2,712

THLB (ha) 0 0 450 1,131 1,581

Brittain CFLB (ha) 0 0 8,794 1,078 9,873

THLB (ha) 0 0 3,121 644 3,765

Bunster CFLB (ha) 0 833 4,688 2,457 7,979

THLB (ha) 0 368 3,715 1,949 6,032

Bute East CFLB (ha) 0 0 348 4,089 4,437

THLB (ha) 0 0 1 1,369 1,370

Bute West CFLB (ha) 0 0 0 3,493 3,493

THLB (ha) 0 0 0 1,112 1,112

Chapman CFLB (ha) 73 212 7,904 211 8,399

THLB (ha) 0 0 5,694 157 5,850

Cortes CFLB (ha) 706 5,397 15,719 97 21,919

THLB (ha) 200 2,918 9,949 91 13,159

Deserted CFLB (ha) 0 0 2,600 0 2,600

THLB (ha) 0 0 1,114 0 1,114

Haslam CFLB (ha) 0 249 1,206 257 1,711

THLB (ha) 0 128 765 201 1,094

Homathko CFLB (ha) 0 0 0 1,481 1,481

THLB (ha) 0 0 0 368 368

Homfray CFLB (ha) 0 30 7,817 2,648 10,495

THLB (ha) 0 26 3,637 1,259 4,923

Howe CFLB (ha) 0 817 8,285 751 9,852

THLB (ha) 0 158 5,181 535 5,874

Jervis CFLB (ha) 987 444 15,375 1,430 18,236

THLB (ha) 89 83 8,196 890 9,257

Lois CFLB (ha) 0 186 932 0 1,118

THLB (ha) 0 109 635 0 744

Narrows CFLB (ha) 196 393 10,822 115 11,526

THLB (ha) 116 197 6,785 75 7,174

Powell Lake CFLB (ha) 0 0 0 149 149

THLB (ha) 0 0 0 104 104

Quatam CFLB (ha) 0 117 13,472 2,896 16,485

THLB (ha) 0 40 5,616 1,338 6,995

Salmon Inlet CFLB (ha) 0 0 2,131 6,884 9,015

THLB (ha) 0 0 1,310 4,169 5,479

Sechelt CFLB (ha) 247 4,166 21,613 641 26,667

THLB (ha) 93 1,950 15,439 272 17,754

Skwawka CFLB (ha) 0 108 377 1,725 2,210

THLB (ha) 0 0 164 782 945

Southgate CFLB (ha) 0 0 0 132 132

THLB (ha) 0 0 0 5 5

Texada CFLB (ha) 0 619 12,829 25 13,473

THLB (ha) 0 205 8,929 21 9,154

Total CFLB 2,208 13,571 135,781 32,403 183,963

Total THLB 498 6,183 80,701 16,472 103,854


43

Table A-5. Community Watershed Summary — Sunshine Coast District

CWS Code

CWS Description Source Name Gross (ha) CFLB (ha) PFLB (ha) THLB (ha)

900.008 Chapman Community Watershed Chapman Creek 6,275 2,945 1,683 1,252

900.012 Community Creek Community Watershed Community Creek 81 80 80 49

900.013 Dakota Community Watershed Dakota Creek 3,243 3,219 3,219 2,131

900.02 Gray Community Watershed Gray Creek 4,422 1,066 0 0

900.021 Greer Community Watershed Greer Brook 18 17 17 1

900.026 Mcneill Lake Community Watershed Haslam Creek 1,530 1,457 1,457 1,271

900.027 Helena Community Watershed Helena Creek 578 260 260 177

900.031 Jefferd Community Watershed Jefferd Creek 315 220 220 199

900.034 Haslam/Lang Community Watershed Lang Creek 13,074 1,570 912 753

900.042 Mcnair Community Watershed McNair Creek 1,839 1,395 1,224 786

900.044 Milne Community Watershed Milne Creek 435 146 122 112

900.059 Silver Community Watershed Silver Creek 5 0 0 0

900.06 Sliammon Lake Community Watershed Sliammon Lake 4,430 864 852 727

900.066 Thulin Lake Community Watershed Thulin Lake 689 371 371 330

900.094 Dysart Community Watershed Dysart Brook 43 43 43 41

900.1 Waugh Lake Community Watershed Waugh Creek 793 680 670 497

BOY.001 Bowyer Community Watershed Bowyer Brook 4 0 0 0

GAM.001 Gambier Community Watershed Gambier Creek 703 675 647 266

GAM.002 Fircom Community Watershed Fircom Creek 100 42 33 0

GAM.003 Laurena Community Watershed Laurena Creek 13 10 1 0

LAS.001 Hadley Community Watershed Hadley Creek 116 10 0 0

NEL.001 West Lake Community Watershed West Lake 1,805 1,220 1,149 444

NEL.002 Little Quarry Lake Community Watershed Little Quarry Lake 146 118 118 47

STU.001 Harbott Community Watershed Harbott Creek 47 29 29 2

TEX.001 Cranby Community Watershed Cranby Creek 890 696 696 585

TEX.003 Priest Lake Community Watershed Priest Lake 1,131 578 578 344

TEX.004 Ball Park Community Watershed Ball Park Creek 928 515 515 388

Total 43,653 18,227 14,898 10,401


44

Table A-6. Summary of Community Interface Zones – Sunshine Coast TSA Core Area

Community Interface Zone Gross area (ha) CFLB (ha) PFLB (ha) THLB (ha)

Cortes Island 11,003 4,735 4,031 3,321

Gambier Island 6,875 3,803 3,521 854

Half Moon Bay 30,093 13,482 11,481 9,168

Lasqueti Island 6,614 1,824 1,618 1,318

Nelson Island North 1,932 1,260 1,189 473

Nelson Island South 868 597 597 386

Nelson Island West 388 127 127 56

Powell River 20,548 8,863 8,091 6,718

Rainy River 1,987 1,190 1,189 832

Read Island 1,461 191 141 120

Refuge Cove 215 113 113 69

Stuart Island 586 197 197 99

Surge Narrows 221 5 5 5

Texada Island 9,328 4,762 4,762 3,550

Total 92,120 41,150 37,062 26,970


45

Table A-7. Landscape Unit Summary — Sunshine Coast TSA Core Area

Landscape Unit Name LU Id Gross area (ha) CFLB (ha) PFLB (ha) THLB (ha)

Bishop 106 78,443 9,310 4,512 991

Brem 136 61,139 15,769 15,769 9,702

Brittain 143 48,523 20,492 20,468 8,046

Bunster 157 31,546 16,526 13,844 11,020

Bute East 167 75,876 22,419 22,360 8,378

Bute West 168 79,344 19,367 19,355 6,003

Chapman 200 56,558 13,799 10,429 8,225

Cortes 264 102,901 39,885 32,184 22,009

Denman/Hornby 2226 3,503 0 0 0

Deserted 1816 13,714 6,335 6,335 2,451

East Howe 356 531 0 0 0

Elaho 365 289 0 0 0

Estero 381 14 7 7 3

Fraser Valley South 429 2,579 0 0 0

Haslam 524 21,302 3,312 2,311 1,932

Homathko 560 179,795 31,732 31,591 10,559

Homfray 561 50,757 21,308 18,820 8,753

Howe 579 52,207 22,295 21,430 11,258

Jervis 615 72,171 33,784 33,167 16,343

Little Qualicum 752 457 0 0 0

Lois 759 14,679 2,251 2,185 1,694

Lower Squamish 796 81 23 22 0

Millstone 869 3,384 0 0 0

Nanoose 917 65 0 0 0

Narrows 920 39,550 21,734 21,604 12,723

Phillips 1024 72 8 8 5

Powell Daniels 1034 175 96 96 90

Powell Lake 1035 2,158 197 197 143

Quadra 1050 29 0 0 0

Quatam 1054 52,143 22,948 22,902 9,795

Rosewall 1089 659 0 0 0

Salmon Inlet 1099 68,675 36,197 35,806 21,115

Sechelt 1112 105,311 37,013 32,644 25,193

Seymour-Capilano 1120 7 0 0 0

Skwawka 1162 38,683 11,165 11,165 3,749

Southern Gulf Islands 2228 833 0 0 0

Southgate 1190 123,428 20,784 20,784 4,732

Stafford 1204 89 0 0 0

Texada 1271 161,010 24,874 23,156 17,327

Thurlow 1277 5 0 0 0

Toba 1285 17,035 2,712 2,712 656

Upper Lillooet 1361 596 0 0 0

Upper Squamish 1378 112 0 0 0

Grand Total 1,560,425 456,343 425,863 222,894

Documents

Sunshine Coast timber supply area timber supply review ... · Sunshine Coast TSA TSR Data Package April 2011 ii Table of Contents Overview of the Sunshine Coast TSA Timber Supply